What Makes a Good Story?

Every story has several key components: plot, characters, conflict, theme, and setting. Your leadership story is no different. For your leadership story to be authentic, you need to add details and feelings for richness around each element, and you need your perceptions to be aligned with others' perceptions.

Every leadership story must have a plot. Step 1 focuses on the plot of your leadership story. Within this context, your plot is why you do what you do. It focuses on what provides you with a sense of purpose. It is what inspires and motivates you. It clarifies and reinforces your values as a leader. You have to know where you are going, or no one will follow you. This is the starting point for understanding your views of your leadership story. But knowing where you want to go and what drives you is only one part of the equation. You also have to know what is important to others, as this will shape their interpretations of your story.

Stories are filled with characters. You are the central character of your own leadership story. To be effective as a leader, you need to create a connection to the other characters. Step 2 explores the characters and nature of your relationships in your story. The other characters in your leadership story can serve as champions, or protagonists, or they can be detractors, or antagonists. When you're seeking to understand others' perceptions of your story, the characters are the starting point. You must identify who the key characters of your story are, what their role is, and their perceptions of your story.

No story would be complete without conflict. Conflict reveals the struggle. The struggle in your leadership story can be with people or uncertainty around your plot, tasks, and resources, to name a few examples. With regard to your leadership story, leadership is not just about getting results; it is about how you do so. In Step 3, we will expand on the role of conflict in your leadership story.

The theme of a story is the main idea. In your leadership story, the theme comes through in the form of behaviors, skills, and habits. Step 4 delves into the role of theme in your leadership story. It looks at how you think you are doing in key areas of leadership, as well as how others think you are doing.

Stories take place in a setting. It can be a single setting or a variety of settings. In your leadership story, the setting can play a critical role in shaping your plot, introducing you to characters, and developing your theme. In Step 5, we will explore the role of setting in your leadership story. We will examine the elements that allow you to be at your best, as well as how you contribute to others' being at their best.